Safety cut-off for oil burners



ay T27, 1924. 1,495,307

W. S. HUMPHREY SAFETY CUT-OFF FOR OIL BURNIERSl Filedv April 27, 1923 if! i Patented May 27, 1924..

WALTER S. HUMPHREY, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

SAFETY CUT-OFF FOR OIL BURNERS.

Application filed April 27, 1923. Serial No. 635,099.

To all whom t may concer/n.:

Be it known that I, WALTER S. HUMPHREY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and 51 State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety Cut-Offs for Oil Burners; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention. relates to a safety cut-off for oil burning systems.

Sometimes the burner is extinguished and for some cause the oil continues to flow from the source of supply into the burner. Unless some means is provided for automatically cutting off' the supply when the burner is extinguished, it is apparent that the oil will ow over the burner onto the floor with great liability, 'not only wasting oil but causing conagrations.

My invention contemplates the provision of means whereby the oil supply will be automatically cut off whenever the oil burner fed too fast or for any other cause. I am aware that automatic means for cutting off the oil supply have heretofore been provided but such devices have sometimes failed because the valve would freeze or stick in the valve casing and whether or not the valve was turned by a spring-actuated lever or a weight-actuated lever, it failed to operate on account of the freezing or sticking. Therefore, it is an important feature of my invention to not only release a valve-actuating lever but to give it an impetus when the tripping mechanism operates so thatin the event that there is any sticking or freezing, the device, which I will term a kick-off will destroy the freezing or sticking effect and permit the valve to automatically close. The novel construction of my invention, together with its manifold advantages, will be specifically described hereinafter and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- 1 Fig. 1 is a pers ective view of the safety cut-0E eonstructe accordance with my overflows, either on account of having oil.

invention and showing the parts in their normal positions.

Fig. 2 is a side view showing the cut-oil'l in its tripped position, and

Fig. 3 is an end view of the parts in the position shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings by numerals of reference:

1 designates a supply pipe into which oil from any suitable source may flow. The oil may discharge into the vaporizing chamber of the burner 2. In so far as this invention is concerned, the burner may be of anypreferred construction but it should have an overflow groove 3 or an equivalent part which will discharge through an overflow pipe 4. The burner can be controlled by any appropriate valve as, for example, one like that designated 5. In the pipe line is a valve casing 7 in'which is a valve provided with a turning stem or spindle 8 so that when the stem is rotated in one direction, the valve will close andwhen it is rotated in an opposite direction to an adequate extent, the valve will open.

The valve isshown as having its stem supported in a vertical member 9 of a frame 10, the frame partaking of any appropriate form. It is here shown, however, as consisting of the vertical members 9 and 11 connected by a top cross bar 12 and supported upon a base 13.

On the valve stem -is an elbow lever 14 having a lateral arm 15 vand a vertical arm 16. The lateral arm is shown as provided with an actuating weight 17 and the vertical arm 16 is shown as provid/ed with a tooth or dog 18 adapted to be engaged by a lug or tooth 19 on a pivoted trip lever 20. One end of the lever is provided with an adjustable counter-balance 21 and the other end of the lever is provided with a notch 22, which may .be engaged by the bail 23 of a bucket 24 into which the pipe 4 discharges.

Carried by the upright 9 is a kick-olf shown as comprising a triangular plate 25 pivoted to the vertical 9 and having a levercontacting face 26 on' a lever-contacting arm 27.

When Y`the valve 5 is cracked enough, oil will flow through pipe 1 into the burner. The valve on the stem 8 will be unseated so that it will not affect the flow of the oil. It will be maintained unseated because the arm 16 of the elbow lever 14 will be engaged by the dog 19 of the lever 20.

The parts will maintain their relative positions as shown in Fig. 1 until for some cause the burner overflows. Then the oil will How into the bucket or 'receptacle 24 and continue to flow until the weight of the oil in the receptacle 24: plus the weight of the receptacleL is enough to move the lug 19 out of engagement with the dog 18 on the arm 16. Ordinarily' the weight 17 will be sulicient to cause a turning movement to be imparted to the lever 14 Aand thereby turn the valve stem 8 so that the safety valve will close and the supply through pipe 1 will be closed oil.

lln order to overcome the liability of theD valve sticking as it sometimes does due to dust, dirt and accumulations 'of paran and oils, as well as for other causes, ll provide the kick-od onsisting of the plate 25 whichis pivoted toleie vertical 9. Therefore, when the oil-receiving bucket or receptacle 24: drops, the lower edge of the lever will contact with the top or with the arm 27 of the kick-od so that it will be swung on its pivot andwcause the face 29 to jar against the arm 16 so as to jar the arm 16 loose and give Y it a chance to overcome the moment of inertia, whereupon the weight 17 `will be sutiicient to close the valve on the stem 8. Then the system will be closed and no more oil can enter the burner 2. e.

When it is desired to restore the safety cuto`, it will be only necessary to swing the lever 14 up to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and swing the lever 2() over -to the dotted line position in Fig. 2. Then the parts will be connected up as shown in Fig. 1, it being necessary, of course, to dump the oil from the vbucket or receptacle 24:.

` Then the device will be again set to be reoperated whenever the oil from the burner flows a sufiicient amount to provide enough weight in the bucket or receptacle to release lever 20. lWhen that occurs, the device will be tripped again. lt will be seen that the safety device is simple in operation, that it can be readil constructed and easily installed in the oil lever so as torelease the arm, and a kickod' device actuated by the lever when it is tripped and having movement to impart lan meneer initial impetus to the arm so as to overcome the tendency ot the valve stem to stick.

2. Tn a safety cut-od for oil burners, the combination with a supply pipe and a burner receiving oil therefrom, an overllow pipe leading from the oil burner, a valve acasing in the pipe, a valve stem projecting through the casing and carrying a valve for closing the pipe, an elbow lever rigid with the valve stem, the elbow lever having a long arm and a short arm, a weight on the end of the long arm, a tooth on the short arm, a latch lever engaging the tooth to normally hold the long arm in a. horizontal position so as to maintain the valve open, a bucket on one end ot the latch lever and in line with the overdow pipe from the burner, the bucket being adapted to accumulate weight by receiving oil from the overflow pipe so. as to trip the latch lever and permit the release of the elbow lever, and a kick-oil device actuated by the latch lever to impart an initial movement to the elbow lever.A

3. .ln a safety cut-od for oil burners, the combination with a supply pipe and a burner receiving oiltherefrom,an overflow pipe leading from the oil burner, a valve casing in the pipe, a valve stern projectin through the casing and carrying a valve or closing the pipe, an elbow lever rigid with the valve stem, the elbow lever having a long arm and a short arm, a weight on the end of the long arm, a tooth on the short arm, a latch lever engaging the tooth to normally hold the long arm in a horizontal position so vas to maintain the valve open, a bucket on one end of the latch lever and in line with the overflow pipe trom the burner, the' bucket being adapted to accumulate weightlby receiving oil from the overdow pipe so as to trip the latch lever and permit the release of the ellll@ bow lever, and a kick-od device actuated by the latch lever to impart an initial movement tothe elbow lever, the kick-od device comprising a pivoted plate having one edge in close proximity to the short arm of the elbow lever above the pivotal point and having a portion with which the latch lever is to contact when it is tripped so that the plate will swing about its pivot.

d. Tn a safety cut-od for oil burners, the combination with a supply pipe and a burner receiving oil therefrom, an overflow pipe leading from the oil burner, a valve casing 1n the pipe, a valve stem projecting through the casing and carrying a valve for closing the pipe, an elbow lever rigid with the valve stem, the elbow lever having a long arm and a short arm, a weigh-t on the end et the long arm, a tooth on the short arm, a latch lever engaging the tooth to normally hold the long arm in a horizontal position so as to maintain thevalve open, a bucket on one end ety the latch lever and in line with the overdow pipe from the lmrner9 the bucket being adapted to accumulate Weight -by receiving close proximity to the short arm of the elbow oil from the overflow pipe so as to trip the lever above the pivotal point and having a latch lever and permit the release of the clportion with which the latch le'ver is to conl0 how lever, and a kick-off device actuated by tact when it is tripped so that the plate will 5 the latch level' to impart an initial movement swing about its pivot. v

to the elbow lever, the kick-off device comv In testimony whereof I ax my signature. prising a pivoted member having one edge in WALTER S. HUMPHREY. 

